Annabel Lee
by Musical Shadows
Summary: Inspired by 'Annabel Lee'. In which Will's curse turns out to be true. AU.
1. Prologue

**AN: So we were reading Annabel Lee in English the other day, and as soon as I saw the words 'angels' and 'demons', I immediately thought of TID. And then I thought of Will's curse. So voilá. First fanfiction, enjoy :)**

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><p>Many, many years ago, there lived a young maiden. She resided in the kingdom that went by the name of Blackfriar's, bordered on one side by the sea. This kingdom was nearly completely isolated from the rest of the world, in fact, some didn't even believe it even existed. The castle was built upon the sole mountain in Blackfriar's, the foot constantly being sprayed by the salty sea water.<p>

The skies seemed to always be a gloomy grey color, clouds spread out over every inch. The castle itself could have been black as coal, but the sturdy walls were worn down over time. The once green meadows contained only water-deprived, yellowing grass. Villages were scattered throughout the kingdom, though not showing any sign of prosperity.

The sea was a never-ending stretch of murky water, with only the barest trace of a blue tint. The waters were choppy, as if threatening to overturn any boat that wished to sail upon it. In the early morning, the smallest sliver of sunlight passed through the grey barrier, dimly lighting the kingdom.

No roosters ever crowed to announce the welcoming of the sunrise. No cheerful voices echoed to represent the beginning of a new day. Nothing to suggest the kingdom had any life at all.

But in reality, within the castle on the mountain, looking through a round window on the second floor was the young maiden. Her brown locks of hair flew behind her, the cool breeze gently blowing. Her grey eyes glistened, contrasting with dull grey clouds in the background.

And this maiden went by the name of Theresa Gray. Her face showed no wrinkles, and had narrow cheeks. She had rather prominent cheekbones, her eyelashes dusting the apples of her cheeks lightly. Her lips were a rosy pink, standing out against hr pale skin.

Theresa was the granddaughter of the great King Starkweather, being born to Elizabeth, the king's daughter, and Richard Gray. King Starkweather was always quite closed off, hence the isolated kingdom. And the reason behind this was the devastating death of Elizabeth and Richard.

Once upon a time, this was quite a cheerful kingdom. The skies were once blue, and the grass was once a luscious green. Birds would chirp beautiful, musical notes, the sun would shine its warm rays on earth. The grand stone wall surrounding the castle had a gate that was almost always opened invitingly. Elizabeth used to manage to brighten the kingdom with Theresa by her side, grasping her hand, dancing in the meadows.

Theresa's personal favorite memory with her mother is of dancing in the rain, embracing the cool feeling of the clouds' tears splashing down onto her sweaty, warm skin. Closing her eyes, she would've tilted her head back, smiling when the rain would flow down her face while listening to the soft droplets hitting the cobblestone roads.

And her favorite memory with her father was by the sea, when the waves weren't as threatening. When the meadow still had gorgeous, blooming flowers growing nears the crystal clear water. Richard had helped Theresa collect flowers, arranging them into a cute little flower tiara.

But Elizabeth, along with Richard, mysteriously disappeared, never to be found again. Theresa was still very young, too young to have her parents cruelly snatched away from her. Days of dancing in the rain and meadows of flowers were gone. Though she still remained with an optimistic mind, she was never quite as cheerful or innocent.

Her grandfather helped her cope, along with her maids and servant. Her personal maid, Sophie, was pretty much a sister she never had. One of the house servants, Thomas, kept her company. And Theresa was never more thankful.

But King Starkweather grew deathly ill one day. Dry, chapped lips and a pale, nearly completely drained out, face made his weakness clear. His eyes were, more often than not, glazed. Each day, breathing became harder and harder. The once great king was horribly frail.

His skin was covered in wrinkles, giving him even more of a bedridden look. He rarely opened his eyes, rarely ever spoke, rarely even made any movement.

Theresa had quite a depressed look on her face. She loved her grandfather dearly, and ever since she heard of the news of King Starkweather's gradual weakening, she completely forgot the previously devestating news. She would lock herself in her room hours at a time, just sobbing into her pillow. The pain of loss was too much for her.

Exactly two weeks ago, when the king was still rather healthy, he had lost a bet to a seemingly permanent drunkard. At age 82, his mind never seemed to be working properly. And only after he had lost his precious granddaughter did he realize that the drunkard didn't even have the scent of wine in his breath.

Scheduled for a month after the bet, the wedding between Theresa and the drunkard would take place. Simply because of an unimportant card game. Though the drunkard couldn't exactly be called a drunkard anymore.

He had only given the king a single name.

William.

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><p>"I hate you, William Herondale!"<p>

Smirking, the said person sauntered over to where she stood, noses almost touching as he stared into her grey eyes,"That may be so, but unfortunately for you, you're still betrothed to me regardless."

His raven hair nearly reached his eyes, almost having a silky feel. The deep blue eyes were captivating, glinting with anticipation, and along with his high cheekbones, he could practically make any girl swoon.

Well, almost every girl.

And that was the special thing about Theresa Gray that intrigued him. She was unique, and she had an endearing stubbornness. The only thing negative about her was, well, she absolutely despised him.

She huffed,"Does it kill you to have some morality?"

He slightly clenched his teeth. Her statement came frighteningly close to his childhood. The part of his life that he desperately tried to leave behind. In truth, he was a monster. So no, he didn't have any morality.

Not that he worded this aloud.

Some of the playfulness in his eyes was erased,"Curiosity is your besetting sin. Don't ask so many questions."

She glared intensely at him, strands of hair sticking to her neck due to sweat. Her grey eyes shone with anger and unshed tears, at this William and at her late grandfather. Her heart still clenched at the thought of King Starkweather, but the pain had mostly healed. But thinking about him caused a dull throbbing.

Nonetheless, she was furious when she found out she had to spend the rest of her life with someone who wouldn't even treat her nicely. Someone who didn't even love her.

Theresa pursed her lips, purposefully turning away, avoiding William's eyes at all costs.

A week before the wedding, right before William had come to take Theresa, Aloysius Starkweather had passed away. Old age and health problems finally caught up to him. And the kingdom of Blackfriar's withered even more.

A tiny little island, a couple miles off the shore of the kingdom, was where William lived. A nice canoe allowed him to go from place to place, as he loved to wander everywhere. Theresa wasn't able to enjoy the scenery; William had immediately pushed her into a cave into her makeshift room.

She was still wearing her crisp, royal gown. Previously, it had a bright baby blue color, dazzling jewels decorating the hems. But it was throughly soiled, having stayed in a dingy cave. Theresa felt like she'd never had so much dirt sticking to her skin before. How she missed the castle, with servants meeting her needs.

William, on the other hand, had a couple changes of clothes. Strangely, they were all exactly the same. With a white dress shirt, a large black dress coat, and black breeches, he honestly looked quite sophisticated.

William shot one last glance in Theresa's direction and walked out, closing the door of her room behind him. And as soon as he left the room, Theresa's strong demeanor broke. A small sob escaped her dry lips, having only been given limited amounts of water.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Theresa half-whispered to herself, pain and anguish threading through her words.

Outside of the cave, walking on the beach with his head down, was William Herondale himself. He had a thoughtful look, clearly in deep thought. He was thinking about his childhood, a time period filled with bitter memories.

It all started with that horrifying day, when a demon rose from the depths of earth, finding an unwilling victim to be cursed. It was an ugly sight, with spiky thorns sticking out of his body in random places. Rough, wrinkly skin and a sunken face added on to this throughly unappealing, unsightly image.

He had sharp teeth and long, pointed fingernails. Darkness and shadows seemed to cover him, not allowing any light at all. Everyone feared demons, but this was one of the worst.

Marabas.

Little William didn't know about anything of the sort. He was young; he was innocent. He had childishly left the safety of the Herondale mansion, sneaking around the island of which the Herondales ruled. This island was so small, nearly nonexistent, that it didn't even have a name. It didn't have any historical documents. It was even more unknown than Blackfriar's.

And it was near the forest, where foliage completely covered the sun, that William met Marabas. Grand, tall trees blocked practically everything from view, colors of brown and dark green mixing in William's eyes.

Little William had begged profusely, desperate to escape. His was backed up against one of the tall trees, fear present in his eyes. But Marabas paid no mind to the little child's pleas.

He cursed him anyway.

"Anyone who loves you shall die. You will rue the day that you met the great Marabas!"

And with that, he fled. Demons lose energy after cursing anyone; Marabas would escape to the depths of earth for a while, not disturbing anyone on earth.

But he had already disturbed one earthling. A little child would be forever cursed, nothing to save him. Yes, demons were cruel, so that's why this Earth had angels to counteract them.

One angel in particular was watching William from the heavens. And he was Lord Ithuriel.

He had sympathy in his eyes as he helped William escape the island of the Herondales. A strong gust of wind picked the little boy up and placed him on a small island, miles from where he was born.

There wasn't much on the island, simply just a stone cave and a small clutters of trees and bushes. Stray animals sometimes wandered around, providing food. At a young age, William learned how to start a fire, boil water, and roast the raw meat of the dead animals.

And he survived alone.

But when he reached he age of 18, he decided to build a canoe out of the wood of the trees and row his way to the much larger piece of land a couple miles away.

And it was there where he first met Theresa. Of course, she was quite some distance away, but he fell in love. Oh how her brown locks of hair would curl around her shoulders, how her grey eyes would ignite with excitement.

And how she would soon be his. Oh yes, William would find someway for Theresa to be his. He never forgot his curse of course, but she wouldn't fall in love with him. He had, after all, ruined her last moments of happiness with her grandfather.

But at least she would be near him. He, who loved her.

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><p><strong>AN: Please tell me what you thought through a review. Thanks for reading :)<strong>


	2. Cursed

**AN: Not much action in this chapter really. But thank you so much for the kind reviews. Enjoy :)**

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><p>Theresa blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to rid of the sleepiness. She strangely couldn't recognize where she was. The bed on which she slept on wasn't nearly as soft or comfortable as she was used to. She quickly sat up at the realization that this wasn't her room. Dizziness overwhelmed her, black spots creeping into her vision as memories from the night before returned.<p>

Raking her gaze across the room she inhabited, Theresa noticed she was in a relatively small room, minuscule compared to her bedroom at the palace. It was dimly light by three torches, one on each of the three complete wall, though the corners were too rounded to be truly considered as separate walls.

Theresa noticed that the air was fairly stale; the oxygen was enclosed by layers of rock. She hated the feeling of being surrounded, which made her feel a bit claustrophobic.

She sighed in frustration, not even able to see her brother, Nathaniel's, coronation. He was next in line to the throne, and he claimed the title of King Nathaniel shortly after Aloysius died. It would soon be followed by the marriage between him and Jessamine, a common girl he fell in love with whilst walking around one of the villages.

The grey, bare walls were completely made of stone, cracks reaching the ceiling, which was dome-like. Theresa was mildly surprised that she still had plenty of body warmth. A quick glance at the soft blanket sparked curiosity. How could such an isolated island have the pelt of a grand creature like the deer?

She slid out of the bed, or what resembled a bed. It was simply a slab of rock covered in a couple layers of the pelt. Horror appeared in her grey eyes at the memory of sleeping under such unappealing conditions.

Her bare feet hit the cool, stone floor. She crept forward, one foot at a time, inching towards the curtain covering what would've been the door. Other than that opening on the only wall without a torch, there wasn't even a small hole in the whole entire room.

With one hand touching the curtain, she deduced the material was cotton. In one swift movement, she had made an opening and peeked past, eyes searching for any movement.

A narrow hallway stretched, also dimly lit by torches lining the walls, tangent to Theresa's room. She took another small step forward, hesitating in this new, unknown territory. She decided it'd be safer to take the left path, though the two paths looked exactly the same. Simply darkness. The air was still, perhaps just a pinch of fresh air coming in every second, just enough to keep the occupants alive.

Every time the path forked, Theresa's heart would skip a beat. She desperately hoped she'd be able to find her way back, not wanting to wander for too long. So she decided to stick with taking the left path each time. Keeping her left hand on the wall, she took a deep breath to try to settle her nerves.

Theresa's soft footsteps were silent as she followed the narrow path, seemingly endless. Minutes of treading on the cold, hard ground passed into what felt like hours. She depressingly wondered if she'd ever be able to see the sunlight again. Finally, the hallway started getting broader, widening into yet another room. But this one was much, much bigger.

Candles completely covered every inch of the places where the walls and floor met. This gave the room a ghastly look, shadows flickering in the corner of her eye. But that wasn't what took Theresa's breath away.

Shelves after shelves of books took most of the space in this rather spacious room. Her lower jaw was hanging down a bit; she was still in shock that this library within a cave would be larger than the one at the palace she once lived in. The scent of old, worn pages filled her nostrils as she breathed in, closing her eyes, giving her a feeling she hadn't felt in quite some time. Relaxation. And even a little comfort.

A small smile graced her lips as Theresa excitedly took the final steps to close the distance between her and the books. She gently traced the spines, careful not to damage them. Her eyes devoured the titles of the precious pieces of writing.

One book, red with golden vines spreading over the cover, caught her eye. The binding was quite sturdy for such an ancient-looking book. The felt around the book wasn't even dusty, as if it had been recently read. She slowly reached for it with her long, slender fingers when a sharp voice interrupted her.

"What are you doing out of your room?"

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><p>William pulled on his black overcoat, glancing at his reflection in the mirror. He was met with a boy around the age of 18 or 19 staring almost blankly back at him, blue eyes filled with misery and hopelessness.<p>

He was thinking about when he first arrived on the island. It wasn't nearly as inhabited as it originally seemed. William was silently greeted by hundreds of animals squeezed into that forest. It appeared to be rather small in size, but when he trekked through, the trees seemed to never end.

He very nearly got completely and utterly lost, but he was strangely enough rescued by a majestic silver wolf. Its eyes were also silver, sparkling under the glistening moonlight.

To add onto William's surprise, the wolf seemed to speak in his mind. "What brings you to the Island of Idris?"

He let out a small gasp of surprise. Never in his 18 years of life did he ever hear something not human speak to him.

The wolf noticed the widening of William's eyes. "The island. It's called Idris. I'd like to say it was once very prosperous, but—"

It trailed off, eyes flickering away from the boy standing in front of him, clearly hesitant in giving more information. Its tail swished anxiously, as if afraid William couldn't be trusted.

He very rudely demanded, with an arrogant smirk,"Tell me what happened to this island. I was sent by Angel Ithuriel himself."

The wolf bowed its head somewhat doubtfully,"Lord Ithuriel? Very well, follow me."

So he followed this mysterious wolf deeper and deeper into the forest. And it clearly wasn't missing any life. Creatures of all different sizes and shapes gazed in wonder at the odd duo as they made their way through the woods.

But what really crawled under William's skin was the fact that whispers of voices were completely surrounding him, echoing in the dense forest. The voices sounded so human.

"Who is with—?"

"Why is there a human?"

"By the Angel, is he real?"

"Those cheekbones!"

"Be careful, he might be dangerous."

"What is he doing here?"

William ignored them to the best of his ability, concentrating on following the footsteps of the silver canine. He shook his head, wondering just how exactly he went from a joyous life with his sisters to a life of talking animals.

He then sighed, thinking about his sisters. How he missed Ella reprimanding or scolding him on his latest prank. Or how he missed Cecily trying to follow him around, copying whatever William did. It was Marabas's fault, he thought, kicking a pinecone that has settled next to his foot.

To his utter surprise, a branch on the tree where the pinecone once was fell on him. He was pushed down from the weight, cursing under his breath. William grumbled, and pushed the branch off of him.

He sat up to see the wolf's eyes looking at him amusedly. He glared, dusting his suit off as he stood up.

"What was that?"

His silver companion sighed with a trace of amusement still present. "I'll explain when we get there."

"But where is this mysterious 'there'?"

The wolf didn't even acknowledge his question, but instead, merely trotted ahead. William had long lost his sense of direction, completely putting his life into the wolf's hands. Well, paws. He really hoped he wasn't placing his trust in the wrong place.

Finally, eventually, they reached the cave where Theresa was now residing. But this was, after all, several months back, so there was no way he'd know . The silver wolf suddenly spun around and stared at William.

"I know this will be a lot to take in, but you have to listen. I can't tell you the whole story, but I'll fill you in with what I can."

William looked at it skeptically, but nodded.

The wolf hesitated slightly, but continued,"First off, I shall introduce myself. I am James Carstairs."

William broke out of his reminiscing, suddenly feeling a shiver traveling through his spine. He slipped out of his room, which wasn't that different from Theresa's, though much bigger. With a confident smirk, he headed in the direction his gut was feeling him to go.

His private library.

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><p>Theresa jerked her head up at the sound of William's voice. "I— I was just walking around. My room was getting too stifling."<p>

He inhaled sharply,"Don't do it again, you could easily get lost."

"Then what am I supposed to do all day?" she somewhat impatiently asked.

"Just stay in your room unless I come to get you."

She raised her chin stubbornly,"You can't expect me to stay in such a small space for a long period of time!"

William glared at her,"And you can't expect me watch you every second of your life!"

"Then don't!" Theresa clenched her teeth, reminding herself to calm down. She took a couple of deep breaths, but her anger was still present. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to let her fury dissipate.

William was also trying to calm down, but he wasn't nearly as good at bottling up his emotions. "If you can't find your way back, don't go calling for help."

With another glare, Theresa stormed out of the glorious library. After she left, he watched her retreating figure regretfully with disappointed eyes, wishing he was never cursed.

He had planned on showing Theresa the forest and introducing her to his extended family. William turned on his heel and sat down on one of the comforters in the library. He slowly traced the intricate flower pattern embroidered on it softly with his finger. Looking at it brought a wry smile to his face.

He lazily walked over to the book that Theresa had previously been inspecting. In very faded golden text, the words 'Curses and Spells' could just barely be seen. He took it out of its original spot, then pressed a well concealed button on the side of one of the bookshelves. A door swung open and he hid the book in the secret shelf in his library. The outline of the door was just barely noticeable, and only if you looked closely.

Satisfied, he slowly walked out of his library, going to the entrance of the large cave. The light of the sun slowly crept into William's vision. He blinked a couple times, not used to such a bright light. The cave was always dimly lit and he hadn't been outside in a while.

At the edge stood a beautiful, yet majestic deer. The pelt was a glorious brown color; the fur seemed to be as soft as silk. White spots softly decorated the gorgeous animal, along with a short, purely white tail. It had deep brown eyes, which seemed to be able to read minds. The sun glinted off of the well-groomed fur, even though this appeared to be a wild animal.

But William knew better. This was part of his extended family.

He began,"Charlotte—"

But the deer just raised its head and glared at him,"Don't 'Charlotte' me. You know I didn't approve of this."

He sighed,"She'll begin to like life here."

He didn't even think he sounded convincing. His voice sounded a little hollow, clearly already giving up.

She went straight to her point,"Why would you bet on the poor girl's life?"

William threw his hands in the air exasperatedly,"I was slightly intoxicated. I wasn't thinking straight!"

"Then why didn't you send her back after you cleared your mind?" Charlotte trotted over next to him, lightly sighing.

"I— You know what the warlock said."

Her gaze slightly softened,"Yes, but you don't have to treat her so harshly."

William turned away, not wanting to look at Charlotte in the eye. "I'm going back inside," he said, sharply.

Charlotte stared at his retreating body, eyes filled with anguish. It wasn't fair that all of them had to endure this. William and all the others had suffered enough already. Yan Luo and Marabas had to be stopped.

But both Charlotte's and Will's thinking was interrupted by a shrill scream. A single name echoed in both of their minds.

Theresa.

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><p><strong>AN: Just a couple filler chapters in the beginning. You'll see more of the plot in the next few chapters. Thanks for reading :)<strong>


	3. Morbid Curiosity

**AN: Thank you for the kind reviews. Enjoy :)**

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><p>"How dare he act in such a way?" Theresa thought angrily as she hurried out of the grand library.<p>

Completely forgetting that she should keep her right hand on the wall at all times, she only focused on getting away from William. Of course, she couldn't pull her thoughts from him.

Honestly, it hurt that he treated her so rudely. She couldn't deny the fact that William was handsome, with his wild, raven hair and deep, violet blue eyes. But his arrogant personality killed it all.

After all, he had basically ruined her whole life. Taking advantage of her old grandfather, William managed to gain possession of poor Theresa. Though she just couldn't get those violet blue eyes out of her mind.

Even so, she just could not stop thinking about how angry he was when he saw her reaching for that red book. Which only strengthened her curiosity. Her morbid curiosity.

Making random turns, Theresa soon found herself utterly lost, both in her thoughts and in this maze-like cave. She halted, finally realizing that she had not a single clue as to how to get to her room.

She turned her head wildly from side to side, in hopes of finding a larger room to rid of her current claustrophobia. Worry and anxiety were slowly filling up her mind. She tried to keep a collected mind, but panic built up around her throat.

The dark, gloomy tunnel wasn't helping her situation at all whatsoever. Instead, it increased her nervousness. The torches made the shadows dance along the stone walls, as if mocking her loss of direction.

Sighing, Theresa spun on her heel and decided to attempt to retrace her steps, making sure the fingertips of her right hand lightly touched the cool wall this time. Unbeknownst to her, she had accidentally wandered to the entrance of an old training room filled with traps.

She carefully creeped across the stone floor, her heart thumping against her chest. Her eyes were scanning the floor in front of her to the best of her abilities. But in the dim light, she just couldn't see the slightly upturned dirt in front of her. Next thing she knew, her foot was falling through a hole.

She shrieked shrilly, squeezing her eyes shut. Her ankle had gotten stuck in what seemed to be an old metal contraption, rusted teeth lining both sides. As pain ran up from her foot, Theresa winced with a scowl on her face.

Because of the momentum of her falling body, everything but her ankle jerked forward, worsening the already painful injury. Blood trickled down from the wound; the color was a dark, crimson red rather than a rich, lighter-hued red.

Tears filled Theresa's eyes, as she had never before experienced any intense physical pain. Life at a castle with servants and maids running everywhere doesn't prepare her for life outside. Her vision was darkening and her rather frail body couldn't endure it.

The last thing she saw before completely losing consciousness was a pair of blue eyes gazing at her with barely a hint of concern within them.

Not too soon afterwards, Theresa drowsily sat up from the very bed she had woken up from earlier, smacking her forehead against something hard.

"Ow!"

Two voices simultaneously let out a gasp, more of shock than pain. Theresa's grey eyes locked with blue ones, searching for any hints of emotion.

But she found his eyes guarded, not letting any feelings seep through. Thinking back to before her unconsciousness, she supposed the concern was completely her imagination. This didn't surprise her, but what did surprise her was the twinge of disappointment.

She shook it off, reassuring herself that the disappointment was for her current captivity.

"Are you alright?" William somewhat hesitantly asked, still staring at Theresa.

His only response was a barely perceptible nod, but it was clear she was lying. After all, her ankle was twisted fairly badly, even though the pain had dulled since the incident.

Looking over at the source of her pain, she noticed her foot was almost completely wrapped in a long strip of white cloth, bandaged tightly. With a light blush decorating her pale cheeks, she murmured a soft thank you as she ducked her head.

But in doing so, her brown locks fell from her shoulders, hiding her face behind a curtain of hair. Theresa tried to avoid his gaze, turning her head slightly to the left, towards one of the walls.

On an impulse, William reached out with his hand and tucked a couple strands of her hair behind her ear. She froze, feeling his warm, calloused hand against her cool skin.

Theresa could've sworn she felt waves of electrical shocks spreading from his touch, freezing her to where any form of movement was impossible.

But it appeared that he definitely wasn't frozen, for after his eyes widened, he cleared his throat and jerked his hand back towards him.

"I'm sorry," William said, though not sounding very sorry at all. Perhaps with the tiniest trace of regret. "I don't know what came over me."

She raised her head just enough to glare at him, infuriated that he treated her feelings like they were just a joke. But this time, it was Theresa's turn to stare at his back after he spun around on his heel and hurried out of the small room.

The feeling was back again, though she just couldn't figure out why she felt yet another twinge of disappointment.

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><p>"Stupid!" William muttered under his breath. He knew he shouldn't have showed any care whatsoever, but her vulnerability had slightly softened his cool demeanor.<p>

As soon as he realized he had let some of his emotions show, he knew he had to leave Theresa's room immediately. William noticed the look of disappointment in her eyes when she was scrutinizing him, which only made him hate the world even more.

He suddenly stopped and leaned against one of the walls, breathing deeply. Closing his eyes, he focused on calming himself, allowing the cold dampness to sooth his burning skin.

Sweat made his raven hair stick to his forehead, and his limbs were slightly trembling. He cursed himself and Marabas loudly, not caring at all about who heard him.

He repeated to himself, quieter this time,"You cannot show affection until after the spell."

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Steadying himself, William got his emotions back under control.

Already knowing his way around the cave by heart, he hurried to the entrance again, wanting desperately to tell someone what he felt. And there was only one whom he trusted with his whole being.

James Carstairs.

"William," James glanced up at him in surprise. "What brings you here?"

"It's Theresa." William's voice was strained and his teeth were clenched. He was once again leaning on a large rock with his head tilted back. The rays of sunshine warmed the skin on his face.

James's gaze softened, eyes clouded with worry. "Has she found the book yet?"

"Not quite. But I found her in the library reaching for it earlier." He sighed, not too quietly either.

"I heard she accidentally wandered to one of the old training rooms. How is she?" James sat back on his haunches, studying the exasperated, yet worried, boy in front of him.

"She's alright." William hesitated, though still continued,"But James, I fear I can't control my actions."

James looked at him out of the corner of his eye, and got up to trot around him,"You have to tell her eventually. Sooner, rather than later."

William grimaced,"Fine, but don't expect her to like it."

This time, James sighed,"It's her destiny. I never expected her to like her path, but it's still her duty."

After one last glance at William, James bounded off into the ever luscious forest.

Even after the silver wolf left, he still stood there under the burning sun. He looked up at the grey-ish blue shade of the sky, startlingly close to the exact color of her eyes, softly whispering,"I'm so sorry Theresa."

Regaining his cool composure, he steadily walked back to her room. After a few turns, he arrived once again at the curtain that hid her room from view. William clenched his fists slightly upon entering the room, preparing himself for whatever Theresa had to say.

But to his horror, she was tossing and turning on her bed, softly whimpering. Then, she screamed out,"Marabas no!"

Just one name made William's blood run cold. What could she possibly be dreaming about?

He took a few wide strides and quickly made it to Theresa's side. He gently grasped her shoulders, shaking her awake.

"Theresa? You're just dreaming. Wake up. Theresa?"

He internally chuckled at the thought of anyone who used to know him seeing him acting this way. William himself didn't think he was capable of such things.

But Theresa had an endless supply of surprises. To his utter shock, she suddenly sat up and wrapped her arms around him, still with her eyes closed.

Tears ran down her face as she cried,"Please don't leave me!"

William hushed her,"It's going to be alright. I'm not leaving."

After a few minutes of his pointless murmuring, Theresa finally calmed down, settling into a deep sleep once again. He looked at her sweet, innocent face for a moment before lying her down and tucking her in.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered once again as he left the room.

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><p>Theresa found herself waking up once again for the third time that day. She certainly didn't mean to spend that much time asleep; though she'll admit she wasn't completely asleep the whole time.<p>

She had felt it when William came to comfort her. And to her utter disbelief, he did it successfully. It had been her first nightmare in a while, and she surprised herself by reacting so strongly about it.

She was walking in the grand library again, except this time, instead of admiring the books, her dream-self pressed a button on one of the bookshelves.

It swung open, revealing another, smaller library. And there, perched by itself, was the mysterious red book. She carefully stepped closer until she was able to see the golden text engraved into the cover.

'Curses and Spells'.

Theresa's heart skipped a beat as she walked towards the ancient-looking book. The crisp pages seemed brittle, worn down over time. She held her breath as she slowly inched her hand forward, creeping towards the old bindings.

But as soon as she touched the leather, a bright flash of ethereal light came from the book, nearly blinding her. She instinctively held her arms in front of her face, squeezing her eyes shut.

And when the light finally died down, she was with her parents again.

Theresa was standing at the top of a meadow, green grass covering every inch of earth. Flowers adorned the ground and white, fluffy clouds decorated the bright blue sky, making the whole setting seem like a fairy-tale.

But she knew this was no fairy-tale, as soon as she figured out they weren't her parents. The two figures looked exactly like her late mother and father, but as soon as they turned around, Theresa had to hold back her gasp.

Where her parents' faces should've been, there were two demon-like faces staring back at her. And that is when she screamed.

Theresa was jerked out of her thoughts harshly as the pain in her ankle returned. Still stubborn, she ignored the dull throb and gingerly stood up from her bed.

Making sure to put minimum weight on her injured foot, she limped out of her room, lightly touching the wall with her left hand. She took a deep breath and readied herself for sneaking into the library.

The trek was longer than last time with her limp slowing her down, but nonetheless, Theresa kept trudging forward. Finally, after enduring the sharp pain on the wound, she reached the grand library.

And just like the first time, it completely took her breath away, she had to jerk her eyes away or else she'd never be able to find the book.

Going straight to the bookshelf that had appeared in her dream, she searched for the concealed button. Panic suddenly surged through her. Why on earth did she believe so strongly in a measly dream?

But the panic was wasted as her fingers soon found the small bump in the bookshelf. Brushing several strands of hair from her face with one hand, she carefully pressed down with the other.

And just like in her dream, it swung open, revealing the book she had been looking for so long.

Almost hungrily, she limped as quickly as she could to the book. Theresa scanned through the pages, wondering what secrets were hidden inside that made William so worried.

After a few moments, she inhaled sharply, whispering out loud,"No wonder William wanted to hide this from me."

Then, an unfamiliar voice echoed behind her.

"You're right. And you really shouldn't have come down here by yourself. Curiosity must be your besetting sin."

Theresa whirled around, her heart skipping a beat. And she definitely did not expect to see what she saw.

There, in all its glory, stood a majestic, silver wolf, followed by a huge group of forest animals, which completely took Theresa breath away.

"Wh- Who are you?"

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><p><strong>AN: The action is starting soon! I'm excited :) Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review! :)<strong>


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